Mads Würtz Schmidt (Specialized Off-Road) and Rosa Klöser (Canyon-SRAM Zondacrypto) each delivered a dominant solo performance at The Traka 360 on Friday in Girona, Spain, with Schmidt becoming the first rider in the race's history to crack the 10-hour barrier.
After a busy Spring Classics campaign that included Strade Bianche, Milan - San Remo, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix Femmes, former Unbound-winner Klöser added another major gravel victory to her already formidable palmarès.
Article continues belowHow the race played out
The men's race had a long list of favourites on the start line in Girona. But with 100km to go, one rider separated himself from the pack. Mads Würtz Schmidt, the reigning European Gravel Champion, made his move with nearly three hours of racing to go, attacking out of the lead group that contained the likes of Romain Bardet and Würtz Schmidt's Specialized Off-Road teammate, Matt Beers.
The 31-year-old Dane — who spent 14 years on the road before going all-in on gravel in 2025 — pushed the pace across Spain's dusty fire roads and punchy climbs. Another solo rider took up the chase, with French Gravel Champion Hugo Drechou (Gravel Nation) spending much of the finale dangling less than five minutes behind Würtz Schmidt. The Dane was flying, and with a few kilometres to go, he still had a 10-minute gap on the chasers. In the end, Würtz Schmidt put in the performance of a lifetime, crossing the line in 9 hours, 57 minutes and 38 seconds, obliterating the previous course record and becoming the first rider to break the 10-hour barrier at The Traka 360.
After winning The Traka 200 in 2025, Würtz Schmidt has also become the first rider to complete the so-called Traka Double — the first rider to win both premier distances in consecutive years.
Drechou held on for an impressive second-place finish, while Beers crossed the line in third, making it a dream-like day for Specialized Off-Road. Benjamin Perry (Guava x Castelli S.O.G.) and Romain Bardet (Factor Racing-Rapha Cycling Club) rounded out the Top 5. Defending champion of the Traka 360, Tobias Kongstad (PAS Racing), finished seventh, unable to replicate last year's 150km solo that earned him the title.
Result: The Traka 360 Gravel men's 2026
1. Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) 9:57:38
2. H. Drechou (Fra) + 11.18 min
3. M. Beers (RSA) + 11.31 min
4. B. Perry (Can) + 12.8 min
5. R. Bardet (Fra) + 12.15 min
6. Paul Voss (Ger)+ 12.47 min
7. T. M. Kongstad (Den) + 16.25 min
8. P. Vakoc (Cze) + 17.37 min
9. A. L'Esperance (Can) + 19.25 min
10. C. Brent (Ger) + 23:53 min
The Traka 360 Gravel Women's race
The women's race came down to a battle between two of gravel's fiercest road-gravel crossovers: Rosa Klöser, riding for Canyon-SRAM Zondacrypto, and Axelle Dubau-Prévot, who races for EF Education-Oatly and is the sister of reigning Tour de France Femmes champion, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. The German Gravel Champion has already had a busy season, having raced in the Ronde van Vlaanderen Women, Paris-Roubaix Femmes, and Sea Otter Gravel in the last month alone.
Klöser, who finished seventh at Sea Otter Gravel two weeks prior, admitted, "I didn't have a great race in the US. I was very exhausted and tired...so I really took all my energy in the last 10 days to make sure that I somehow turn it around, and I guess it worked out."
Deciding between The Traka 200 and 360 seemed to be a challenge enough for many riders, with both fields featuring star-studded international line-ups. Klöser wasn't even sure what distance to do, but then she talked with her circle and, "they said, Rosa, you are the Queen of the Gravel Earth Series, you have to do the Queen distance!"
Klöser raced the opening hours of The Traka 360 as if she was doing the 200. "To be honest, I wanted a hard race from the start...so I created the first split on the first climb." Less than halfway through the race, Klöser and Dubau-Prévot were already out front, alongside Geerike Schreurs (Specialized Off-Road) and two-time defending champion of The Traka 360, Karolina Migoń (PAS Racing). However, Migoń would eventually withdraw from the race at an aid station. She appeared to have blood on her cheek — though she was already talking about returning for the Traka 200 less than 24 hours later."
Schreurs was the first of the leading trio to succumb to the pace, and then it was Klöser who kicked it up another gear. Dubau-Prévot, fresh off a top-10 at Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes just days prior, couldn't close the gap. Klöser crossed the line in 11:27:58, nearly 13 minutes ahead of Dubau-Prévot, with Schreurs a further six minutes back in third.
The win was a thunderous statement less than a month ahead of Unbound Gravel, and Klöser will surely be a favourite alongside Dubau-Prévot and Schreurs.
Result: The Traka 360 Gravel women's 2026
1. Rosa Klöser (Ger) 11:27:58
2. A. Dubau-Prévot (Fra) + 12.53 min
3. G. Schreurs (NLD) + 18.29 min
4. M. Aguirre (USA) + 33.40 min
5. H. Smith (Can) + 34.32 min
The Gravel Earth Series continues on June 7 at Ranxo Gravel in Ponts, Spain.